After a 3-year hiatus, the crypto markets are back with a Big Bang … Bitcoin is up nearly 500% in 12 months and even topped $58,000 in February. Ethereum has returned nearly 600% in that same time period. It’s a bonanza for emerging blockchain innovators who are riding the crypto tailwinds to new areas of profit.  Mentioned in today’s commentary includes:  Shopify Inc , Mastercard , IBM Corporation , AMD , Amazon ).

Seizing this unstoppable momentum, we have companies building blockchain and crypto tools such as Canada’s Cloud Nine Web3 Technologies , and China-based Canaan Inc.  …

Their share prices have skyrocketed to the tune of 2,250% and 186%, respectively, over a 52-week period. Companies like Cloud Nine and Canaan Inc. are now taking the blockchain concept to an entirely new level.

The Crypto Comeback

Bitcoin defied pretty much every form of adversity in 2020. A key catalyst behind the massive price rise is that bitcoin has recorded a big influx of investors fromlarge-scale institutions such as pension funds, trusts, and even endowment funds. And thenumber of vendors accepting bitcoin as a form of payment is growing rapidly.

PayPal now allows customers to buy, hold and sell bitcoin directly from their PayPal accounts …

Rival digital payment firmSquare reported in November that more of its Cash App users are buying the digital currency, and buying more on average than before.

Possibly most importantly, Visa Inc. hasbeen warming to bitcoin. In October, the giant payment processorannounced a handful of bitcoin-related credit and debit cards with leading crypto exchange Coinbase.

The Uber of Crypto

Cloud Nine  made its name with the development of the cutting-edge Cloud Nine ESL Program for student mobility … Now, it’s pivoting to the crypto business in a big way … It’s just closed on a deal with Victory Square Technologies Inc.  to acquire cryptocurrency and blockchain assets. A significant segment of the new company will operate under the Limitless brand name, with an exciting lineup of assets under the new banner, including:

The Limitless Blockchain Platform has been branded the ‘Uber of Crypto‘–and for good reason. Through this acquisition, Cloud Nine (CNI; CLGUF) is rethinking the entire market.

The first asset is the foundational software piece us a mobile application called Limitless VPN and it’s free to download anywhere in the world. Where does the revenue come from? The VPN generates revenue from mining altcoins by leveraging the unused processing power from the Company and the User’s servers.

In Beta, the Limitless VPN Mining Network had an initial cost per user of $2. Upon hard launch to its 100,000 Waitlist, Cloud Nine expects to drive that user acquisition cost down to $0.15 per user and foresees up to $7.30 in profit per user / month. And by the end of 2021, Cloud Nine projects having over one million users across its platform.

A Decentralized Financial Ecosystem

Cloud Nine believes that Bitcoin’s increasing acceptance has set the stage for altcoins such as Ethereum and a new wave of financial experimentation.

Coinciding with its acquisition of the Limitless VPN, they are building out its user base even further with the MicroBlock ‘Mine From Home’, ‘Crypto in a Box’ Mining rigs; both of these assets really act as a funnel of sorts for its marquee asset, the ‘X-2′…an entire decentralized financial ecosystem.

With the X-2, Cloud Ninehas a liquidity provider for banking services and crypto to crypto or crypto to fiat. The X-2 is the AirBnB of databases; a vast decentralized network through which they can distribute digital products with no centralized middleman, like AWS, Facebook or Twitter,  which can (and do) shut down products at the snap of a finger. 

Tech Giants Are Diving Headfirst Into The Blockchain Realm

Amazon is another leader in the technology world. And it’s not ignoring the blockchain boom, either. Amazon’s managed blockchain platform is a game-changer. As a part of its AWS services, the relatively new platform will allow businesses to easily create and deploy their own blockchain solutions.

Amazon’s managed blockchain platform supports two major blockchain frameworks, the open-sourced Hyperledger Fabric platform, or the Ethereum blockchain platform. This gives users the opportunity to choose which platform works best for them. Users of Amazon’s managed blockchain platform can leverage the power of this new tech in a number of different ways, from trading and asset transfers to retail and supply chain management.

AMD is one of the world’s leading GPU producers. And for those who aren’t aware, GPUs are used to mine an array of cryptocurrencies including Ethereum. These processors are so desirable, in fact, that the demand for high-powered GPUs has eclipsed supply, creating a shortage in the market. Despite crypto miners hogging all the graphics cards, however, AMD has been very clear on its stance regarding this subject.

Commenting on whether AMD’s newest GPU, the RDNA 2, will limit crypto mining as its competitor, NVIDIA, has done, the company noted, “The short answer is no, we will not be blocking any workload, not just mining for that matter.”

IBM Corporation  is a giant in the tech industry, with over 100 years of experience in technological innovation. IBM’s long list of inventions throughout its history include; the automated teller machine (ATMs), the floppy disk, the hard drive, and much more. And it’s not ignoring new trends, either. In fact, it has quickly emerged as one of the leaders in the growing blockchain space.

IBM’s blockchain platform, built on the open-source Hyperledger Fabric platform from the Linux Foundation is helping companies with a wide variety of blockchain solutions including tools for the finance sector, supply chain transparency, and letters of guarantee. IBM’s blockchain platform even helps interested parties develop their own blockchain solutions through educational tools and personalized assistance.

Mastercard is a global innovator in payments processing that isn’t ignoring the cryptocurrency and blockchain boom. In early 2021, Mastercard announced its plans to bring cryptocurrencies onto its network, stating “We are preparing right now for the future of crypto and payments, announcing that this year Mastercard will start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on our network. This is a big change that will require a lot of work. We will be very thoughtful about which assets we support based on our principles for digital currencies, which focus on consumer protections and compliance.”

This move by Mastercard will help further bolster the robust payments network and allow customers to utilize the company’s tried and true credit, debit, and prepaid cards to harness the power of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in an entirely new way.

Shopify Inc  is an absolute beast in the e-commerce world. In fact, because of its simple-to-use platform, it would be hard to have not stumbled onto a shop built with its technology. In addition to its revolutionary approach on e-commerce, Shopify is also delving into blockchain technology, making it a promising pick for investors, especially given that the sector is red hot right now. Its clients are even able to accept bitcoin and a variety of other cryptocurrencies as payments with a few clicks.

Global lockdowns accelerated Shopify’s already-tremendous growth. Since March 2020 alone, Shopify has seen its price rise from just $495 per share to a high of $1800 per share before settling down to its current price of $1400. The company has already shown its potential, but as it continues to grow, so will its innovative solutions for businesses, and by extension, it’s share price.

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